


Act One, Scene One

by orphan_account



Series: Act One, Scene One [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen, High School AU, Other, battle-off!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 07:17:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10680387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: And...action!It's act one, scene one at Serena's high school. Their junior year is home of one of the most celebrated Academy traditions: the Pokemon Battle-Off!With two sides warring to win her heart, plus normal school life and the stress of the Battle-Off, will Serena find true love and happiness? Or will she have to wait another year?





	1. Chapter 1

“Oh, the stars, the stars! They call me, they summon me to dance with them under the light of the moon…”

Serena twirls in a circle, raising her arms to the sky. Or the wooden ceiling, depending on how engrossed in the story you are.

She glances at Mrs. Juniper for approval. When her brown-haired teacher nods and smiles, Serena squeals and jumps off the stage to the orchestral pit below.

One of her best friends, Lillie, sits there with her flute, picking out a hauntingly lovely melody. When she sees her performer friend has joined her, she gently sets down the instrument and turns to the enthusiastic actress.

“That was really good, Sere!” Lillie compliments, grinning at the honey-haired girl. 

Serena’s cheeks are flushed and she’s breathing heavily. “That was my hardest scene, and I think I finally got it!” 

Her words are partially drowned by the commotion coming from all over the huge room. This is the Performance Hall, full of musicians, actors, dancers, singers, painters, artists, Coordinators and Performers. Lillie is an orchestral musician, specializing in flute and violin but able to play at least three more. Serena’s an actress and both a Pokemon Performer and Coordinator, with her heart set on becoming Kalos Queen and a Top Coordinator.

Their other friends, Misty, May, Dawn, Iris, Bonnie, Lana, and Mallow, aren’t here now. None of them are performers, except for May, Dawn, and Bonnie, who are all Coordinators. 

Misty and Iris are probably off training somewhere, dead set on becoming Champions of Kanto and Unova one day. Lana and Mallow are off in the cafe, probably, since they hadn’t yet eaten today. And who knows where Bonnie is!

The rumble of voices and screeches of instruments come to a halt as the PA system rattled on. “Hello, Pokemon High! This is your principal, Professor Oak. I just wanted to let you know that the school day is ending early today due to the Battle-Off’s initial round beginning at seven pm. All students are advised to head to their dorms and get ready for this fantastic celebration!”  
As soon as the intercom goes off, Lillie and Serena rise in unison with the other students and head for the door. They share a dorm with Bonnie and they both know that the feisty blonde won’t want them missing her great debut.

“I almost forgot the Battle-Off starts tonight,” Lillie muses, fingers twirling her flute around absentmindedly. 

“You forgot? Bonnie’s been preparing for weeks, and so have the others!” Serena says, amazed.

“I’m sorry! I just forgot that...um...never mind.”

Serena smirks wickedly. “Forgot that Hau’s gonna be in it?”  
“NO! It’s not that!” Lillie stammers hastily, cheeks flushing a bright red.

Her crush on Hau is no secret. Ever since the six of them, Lillie, Lana, Mallow, Kiawe, Hau, and Sophocles, came to Kalos from Alola, she’s been trying to deny it, but everyone sees otherwise. She’s never alone in a room with him, and he’s always trying to protect her, since Lillie isn’t a Pokemon Trainer. 

Serena does love teasing her about it.

Lillie’s face is now just a pale pink as she says, “Iris and Misty are competing too, right? I know Lana isn’t, but Mallow and Kiawe are, Clemont’s not, he’s doing some geeky thing with Sophocles...oh, it’s so hard to keep track!”

“Misty. Iris. Bonnie, Mallow...I think Gary...Ash and Paul...Calem...Brendan and Max...Kiawe and Hau, is Brock? No, he’s not...wow. You’re right!” Serena laughs, counting them off her fingers. 

“You don’t say!” Lillie exclaims back. 

The girls have arrived at their dorm, turning in and dumping their stuff in the entryway. Serena rushes through to the main sitting area while Lillie puts her flute away.

“Bonnie!” Serena calls, searching the dorm for the feisty blonde trainer. “Where’d you go?”  
Said feisty blonde trainer pokes her head out of her room. “In here!”

Bonnie’s hair has grown out since her travels in Kalos and Hoenn. She now wears it in a long ponytail like the one Serena wore for her first ever Pokemon Showcase. Her blue eyes are drawn out with expertly applied eyeliner. After all, a good Trainer-Coordinator always looks good on stage!  
“You getting ready?” Lillie asks, coming in and flopping down on the couch. Her pale blonde hair has come out of its ponytail, and she braids it over one shoulder while talking.

“Of course! We’re ready, right, guys?”

Bonnie’s Pokemon, a shiny Leafeon, a Jynx, a Nidoqueen, and of course Dedenne, bark, squeak, and chirp in agreement. 

Serena sends out her Pokemon, too: her Delphox, Pancham, and Sylveon from Kalos and her Gardevoir from Hoenn, and her Primarina from Alola. Her travels as a Performer and Coordinator had brought her all over, even to the islands of Alola, where she helped set up the first ever Alolan Pokemon Showcases. 

Lillie doesn’t have any Pokemon yet, although she’ll have to catch one by the end of the year. She’s scared of all wild Pokemon, so it might take a while.

The girls sit amiably and chat for awhile, until Bonnie has to leave to go down to the arena. Lillie and Serena pick up May, Dawn, and Lana from their room and head down to the arena themselves. 

It’s located in the center of the school, rising up from the outside. The stands surround a battlefield that raises up and down, depending on what’s happening; the Battle Class meets here, and sometime the Coordinators practice for the Battle Round in the arena. It’s already full of spectators, both parents and students. Serena leads the group up to Suite 3-E, the group’s normal spot.

They walk in to find Clemont, Sophocles, and Zoey already there, sitting in the chairs in front of the television screen inside. Lana and Lillie settle themselves near them to watch, while Serena, Dawn, and May walk out to the stands to see the preparations begin.

They sit like that for a while, chatting, until Principal Oak comes on the intercom once again.

“Welcome to the Pokemon School’s annual Battle-Off! The first round is about to begin!”

The buzzing in the crowd silences for a moment, then resumes even louder.

“Here are the battle round-ups for the first round!”

A large blue bracket shimmers into existence in midair. 

Lana, Lillie, Clemont, Zoey, and Sophocles come and join them on the stands. 

“It looks like Ash and Calem up first, then Bonnie and Max, then I-don’t-know-who-these-people-are, then Iris and Misty, and then Hau and Gary,” Clemont observes, squinting at the brackets. “I’m sure that’s not all, though, maybe some battles are leaking over into tomorrow?”  
“Yeah, probably,” says Zoey. “Though these one-on-one battles aren’t even exciting! The best ones are the tag battles, the multiples, and the six-on-sixes.”  
“Whatever,” says Lana quietly. “I’m cheering for my friends, no question.”

They sit in silence for a bit after that, watching and waiting the battlefield. Suddenly, the lights dim off and the music silences, catching the crowd’s attention. 

“And let the Battle-Off begin!”


	2. Act One, Scene Two

The stands lit up as the battlefield rose, revealing a large forest-like arena. 

“Oh, that’s a tough field…” Lillie murmurs.

Oak’s voice echoes again. “First up, we have Ash and Calem, both juniors here at the Pokemon Academy!”  
Their platforms slid out from the rest of the arena, revealing two nearly-identical dark-haired boys. Calem was closer to them but his back was away from the suites, whereas though Ash was farther they could clearly see him.

The principal steps onto the referee’s box. “The rules are...a one-on-one Pokemon battle for these first rounds, here. Once a Pokemon faints, he and his trainer are out of the competition! Are you ready, boys?”

Both boys nod.

“Then battle...begin!”   
Zoey grabs a bowl of popcorn she’d brought from her dorm. “This is bound to be good.”

  
  


Down on the stage, Calem can feel Ash’s determined gaze on him; he growls and turns away slightly. Ash grins as he sends out Charizard, the huge orange dragon hovering above the battlefield. It roars, barraging Calem with a wave of heat.

After the fire dies down, Calem returns his attention to the battle. 

“Greninja!” Calem calls, tossing the PokeBall high into the air. When the blue light vanishes, a blue frog-like Pokemon is standing in its place.

The crowd murmurs. Calem now has the type advantage, but cannot Mega Evolve. Ash has the type  _ dis _ advantage, but can Mega Evolve  _ and _ use a Z-Move. 

Charizard strikes first with Overheat, burning away the trees and plants on the field. Serena shivers at its power. “It’s so dangerous, being a trainer,” she comments. “I much prefer Performing...and Coordinating.”

“Good,” Zoey says, still munching on her popcorn. “I thought you weren’t going to add that last part on there.”  
While the group laughs, the battle is still raging down below.

  
  


“Greninja, use Water Shuriken!” Calem calls, watching Charizard intensely.

His blue Pokemon nods and jumps high into the air, spinning a ball of water into a deadly pointed star. It soars through the air and slams directly into the Charizard, inflicting massive damage; it was, after all, a water-type move, super effective on the fire-flying type opposite them.

Ash counters with Dragon Claw, the cruel, gleaming hooks on his Charizard’s arms easily swooping Greninja into the air. The Pokemon lands on the ground with a loud crunch, and Calem winces as though he can feel its pain.

“Follow that up with Flamethrower!” Ash yells, a determined expression on his face. His hat is on backwards and his eyes a bit wild as he gets caught up in the battle.

“Not on my watch! Greninja, use Dark Pulse!”  
The two attacks collide in midair, creating a large explosion. Calem covers his eyes as he turns away, coughing, but listening as hard as he can for the resulting sound of the two Pokemon locked in hand-to-hand combat.

As he turns back, the remaining smoke fades, revealing both Pokemon on their knees. Greninja struggles to its feet, closely followed by Charizard. Though greatly weakened, the two Pokemon glare at each other with no less determination in their eyes.

“Greninja, finish with Ice Beam to freeze it to the ground and then Water Shuriken!”  
“Use Earthquake, Charizard!”  
And with one final, mighty blow, the two Pokemon simultaneously collapse, swirls replacing their eyes as they finally run out of energy.

Professor Oak stands there, stunned, for a second before recovering his wits and grabbing his microphone. “And what an extraordinary first battle to start off our Battle-Off! As we are running on a tight schedule, we will have to conclude this battle here...Both contestants will be moving on to the next round! Next up we have Delanie and Halla, both sophomores!”

The boys recall their Pokemon and walk across the field to shake hands. “Nice job, man,” Ash says as they stand there. “I hope to battle you again in the semis or the quarters.”  
And though he shows no sign of it as Ketchum turns around and walks away, Calem boils with anger.

_ Does he think I’m not good enough to challenge the reigning champion in the finals? _

He turns and runs towards the elevator, ignoring the girl walking out to take his place. She turns to congratulate him but he sprints right by, missing her affronted look.

He barely remembers making it to his friends’ suite, but when he opens the door and slides in he quietly growls; Ash has woven his way in between Dawn and Serena, chatting it up like the player he is. Calem stands there for a moment more before turning and walking out, slamming the door behind him so they would know he was there.

He manages to keep in his sobs until he reaches his dorm room’s balcony.

  
  


Serena jumps as the door slams behind someone, squirming out of Ash’s arms in the process. “Where are you going, Sere?” he asks, brown eyes fixed on her face as she stares at the door.

She stiffly sits back down, leaning forward to watch the new girls battle. “Nowhere...it startled me, that’s all.”  
“Haven’t changed much from our journey, have you?” he chuckles. “I remember two or three haunted houses…”  
“ _My_ journey, not _ours_ , and shut up, Ketchum!” she laughs. “I _distinctly_ remember you rudely abandoning us for Alola!”  
“Not before you left for Hoenn!” Ash shoots back, still laughing.

They sit like that for the rest of the night, laughing and talking with their friends.

Serena has no idea she’s just broken Calem’s heart.

 


	3. Act One, Scene Three

“Go, Bonnie!” Lillie cheers as their friend’s platform rises. The trainer’s blonde hair is braided again, over her shoulder. Her simple black leggings, white skirt, and brown tunic highlight her figure against the dark backdrop of the crowd. Her ever-present yellow bag is decorated with the twin of the black ribbon around her neck.

Clemont rushes to the side of the balcony, leaning over the railing. “You can do it, Bonnie!” he screams to his twin, who glances up at them and smiles.

Serena gives her a thumbs-up and grins, then points at her opponent, who has just come onto the stage. “Be careful, Bonnie! Max is a hard battler!”  
May, Max’s sister, sits still. “I just hope they finally realize…” she murmurs happily.

“Realize what...ohh.” Lana laughs.   
Sophocles, Clemont, and Ash stare at the girls in confusion for a couple seconds before shrugging and talking amongst themselves again.

“Here we are, with our last match of the day! One on one, again, with the first Pokemon fainting causing its Trainer to be eliminated...battle begin!”

Bonnie throws a Heal Ball up into the air, revealing her pick. “Go, Queenie!”  
Max’s Gallade stands at the other end of the field, waiting tensely.

“Oh, Bonnie’s got a type disadvantage against Max,” Ash observes. “Nidoqueen’s Poison typing will be less effective on Gallade’s Fighting.”

“Yeah, and Gallade’s Psychic is super effective on Poison. But Bonnie’s got something up her sleeve, I’m sure!” Clemont points out anxiously. “I’d say this battle could go either way!”  
Down on the battlefield, Bonnie strikes first. “Queenie, Stone Edge!”

Large, blue, shimmering “stones” appear in front of the kneeling Nidoqueen. They slam into the Gallade, knocking him backward. 

“Gallade! Use Psycho Cut!”  
Gallade’s arms glow a faint purple as he charges at Nidoqueen. “Quick! Counter with Stone Edge again!” Bonnie screams, but it’s too late. The super-effective attack has landed.

Nidoqueen is heavily winded now, with a couple cuts on her arms. But she stands up and looks at Bonnie trustingly. 

Encouraged by her partner’s faith, Bonnie calls her next attack. “Now, Queenie, use Venom Drench followed by Shadow Ball!”  
The large reptilian Pokemon does exactly what Bonnie says. After thickly coating Gallade in purple poison, she fires several large balls of shadow at the weakened Pokemon, causing him to flinch even more.

Neither Pokemon are down yet, but the battle is nearing its end. They’re both breathing very heavily and are eyeing each other with caution.

“Finish this with Earth Power!”  
“Brick Break, Gallade!”  
The two moves collide and cause a large explosion. When the smoke clears, one Pokemon is lying unconcious on the ground.

“Well! A win for Max Maple!” declares Oak. “What a lucky day for this young trainer! Let’s give it up for Bonnie Sparks and Max Maple!”

“Return, Queenie; you did great,” Bonnie whispers to her PokeBall. “But next time we’ll win for sure!”

Bonnie glances up to see Max standing in front of her with his hand held out. “Good job, Bonnie.”

She smiles. “Same to you, Max.”

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Calem sits on the swing on his dorm balcony, swinging it as he gazes out into the night. The battle arena’s lights are on, casting a faint golden glow onto the ground nearby as the building shakes with the power of the crowd’s roars. 

_I’ve loved Serena since she moved to Vaniville Town when she was five and I was six. I followed her here to school because she didn’t want to go alone, even though I wanted to go to the Hoenn Academy of Science. I’ve comforted her when she loses a Showcase or messes up her lines in a play. I’ve taught her about battling, and how to strengthen her Pokemon’s moves in Showcases. What have I done wrong? How is Ash better than me? We look alike, we have similar Pokemon teams, we both do Gym battles...but how?_ _  
__Serena...how do I earn back your love?_

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
“Alright, guys. I’m going to sleep,” Serena says, standing up and smoothing out her skirt. “I’m super tired, plus I’ve got a math test tomorrow.” 

“I’ll come with you.” Lillie says. Bonnie nods her head, and so does Sophocles. The foursome make their way out of the box, waving back at their other friends. 

The grounds are strangely quiet compared to the noisy chaos of the arena. The long shadows blend into one another, blurring, as the small group makes their way to the dorm building. 

“What did you think of that?” Sophocles asks, breaking the silence.

“I was a bit confused overall, but it was fun.” Lillie says.

“I can’t believe I lost!” Bonnie exclaims, kicking at the ground with her shoe.

“Oh well; no need to worry, right?” Serena says, mimicking Dawn. 

After they reach the dorm building, the three girls bid goodbye to Sophocles, who heads for the boys’ wing. It’s much quieter than it normally is at this time of night, but it’s pleasantly normal at the same time.

They turn into their room and say goodnight before heading to their rooms. Serena grabs her pajamas and heads into the bathroom, where she drops her clothes on the floor before peeling off her practice clothes and turning on the shower.

The warm water soothes her as she rubs shampoo through her short honey hair, eyes closed against the torrent of liquid.  _ I can’t believe Calem tied Ash. I know Calem’s good but Ash is Champion of the school! He should’ve won!  _

_ Poor Calem, though; I know he wanted to win. But there’s no way Ash is letting that happen.  _

She turns off the shower and changes into her pjs, then grabs her math notes and climbs into her bed. 

_ 3xy _ _ 2 _ _ \+ 4y - 12xy x (9 + y + 3xz) = 12… _

  
And then she fades out, cheek pressed against her textbook as she drifts into peaceful sleep.


End file.
